A Rock Prince with a Vengeance

Usually, I wouldn't give two shits and a damn about going on a date. I'm so nervous about this that I'm pacing uncontrollably back and forth in my room while biting my nails-a habit that I broke years ago. This girl is much, much different than any other girl I've dated. There's just something about her that makes her more unique. While I continued with my panic attack, a heard a knock on the door, and in came Matt.

"What did she say?" I said frantically.

"First of all, take several deep breaths," he said as I obeyed his command. "She said yes."

"Dude, are you fuckin' serious!"

"I told you so."

"Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."

"Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for."

"Even though you devised a twisted plan for all of this, I can't believe it worked."

"Yeah, yeah. Now go get ready for Briony. You're leaving in a half hour for Applebees."

"Why are you telling me this now? I have to shower, shave, pick out a nice outfit-"

"Just find something casual. Remember, it's only Applebees."

"Alright. Do you mind if I have some privacy?"

"Sure," he said as he exited the room.

I took a shower in a record time of three minutes, shaved-which resulted in some bloody cuts scattered on my face. After wiping up all the blood, I put on a robe and proceeded to walk to my closet. It was difficult to find something decent since my over-sized wardrobe consisted of too many pairs of ripped jeans, plaid, sleeveless shirts, and tuxedos. I ended up choosing my favorite pair of ripped jeans, a sleeveless Jack Daniels shirt, and to top it all off, a pair of used and abused Nike's. I was now already with five minutes left to spare.

After my somewhat difficult decision making, I walked downstairs to the lobby to find Johnny, Matt, and Jimmy gathered around the front door; just drinking some beers and having a good time.

""Lookin' good there, stud muffin," Jimmy screamed, which creeped me out.

"Where's Briony?" I asked.

"Brian took her home to get ready. I don't know what it is with girls taking their sweet, precious time. They left about three hours ago," Matt said.

"Well, I'm gonna have a cigarette break. Anyone care to join me?"

"Yes, please!" Jimmy exclaimed as he grabbed his bottle of Miller Lite and followed me outside.

I took out my pack of Marbolo, took out a stick, and placed it between my lips. I reached into my pocket again, and I realized that I didn't have a lighter. I then checked all the pockets I had, still no luck.

"Light me up?" I asked as he answered my plea. I placed the the nicotine stick back between my lips, and breathed in a nice, long drag. The substances in the some helped soothed my nerves away.

"You don't look normal, Zacky. Here, have some," Jimmy said as he handed me his Miller Lite, which I gladly accepted without any hesitation.

"Now I am. Dude, I think that's her and Brian," I said as a black Escalate pulled up in the driveway. Both of the doors flew open and out came Brian and Briony, who was looking beautiful as ever.

"Good luck, man," Jimmy whispered to me as he patted (more like punched) me on the back and returned to Matt and Johnny. As I just put out my cigarette butt, I look up and saw Brian giving my date a hug. I have to keep an eye on him. He has a history of stealing his friend's girls, and I don't want to be the next victim.

"So you must be the Zacky Vengeance I met at the coffee shop and everyone has been talkin' about," Briony said, "I'm Briony, or Bri, if you don't remember."

"I do remember clearly. It's nice to see you again. You look great, like you-" I stumbled out my words until Brian stepped in.

"He's just a little nervous. Now you two lovebirds should get goin' now. Applebees isn't open all night," Brian said as he escorted us to the car.

We both said our goodbyes to the guys and headed off. The car ride was awkward. We both asked each other simple questions that were only answered with a several word reply. It made me worry that this date was going to be disastrous.

About ten minutes later, we finally arrived to our destination at Applebees. I walked her to the door, and even held it open for her like a gentleman, but didn't even get a thank you. Maybe the car ride is making her think differently about this. I'm freaking out too much; I swear I need to overdose on chill-pills.

"Hi, welcome to Applebees. Smoking or non?" The worker asked us.

"Non," Briony replied as the worker seated us toward the non-smoking section. Damn, being on the other side of the restaurant would of been a lot easier to smoke my stress away.

"So, how have you been?" She asked, trying to break the ice more.

"Oh same old stuff. Just trying to live a normal life. Yourself?"

"I'm still working at the coffee shop and currently going on a date with the most royal man in the city."

"Trust me, I"m not as royal as I seem to be. Don't judge a book by it's cover."

"What do you do as a Prince? Nobody talks about you, and I don't see you walking around the City at all."

"I sleep in, work out, eat store-bought food, I make music, play video games, watch baseball."

"I thought Prince's lived a fancy lifestyle. They'd dress up all properly, did government and charity work, announced everything when the paparazzi is around, and have a British accent."

"Then I guess I broke that stereotype. Just like my friends and I said, I'm just a normal guy."

"Then why do normal guys kidnap girls just so they can go on a date with them?"

"For you information, I had nothing to do with that."

"I don't see why you couldn't of just walked back to the coffee shop and asked me there. Just sayin'," she mentioned.

"I, well, uh," I began to stutter and I could also feel my face burning up. "I never thought of that. I guess I didn't really think about that. During that time, I wasn't, well, as you can put it."

"You went through depression, and don't deny it. I went through it too. Don't worry," she said as our waitress came by.

"Hi y'all. I'm Melody, and I'm going to be your waitress for you tonight. Can I start you two with some drinks?" The waitress said with a slight southern accent.

"I'll have a Miller Lite draft and the lovely lady would like-"

"I'll just have a diet coke please."

"Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Don't be shy; you could of ordered a drink. I would of been perfectly fine with it."

"I'm not much a of a drinker, but thanks anyways. So what are you gonna get?"

"I'm gonna have the all you can eat ribs. Yourself?"

"I think I'm just going to stick with a salad."

"Let me guess, you're a vegetarian?"

"I guess you can call me that. It's just that I haven't eaten meat in the past 11 years, and I'm afraid that I won't like meat anymore."

"Afraid of meat? Ribs are so good, when you have some, it's like a party in your mouth."

"Mr. Vengeance, you have persuaded me. I'll try it. Besides, I deserve a hardy meal once in a while."

"A girl who likes to spice things up a bit. I like it."

"Here's your drinks. Are you two ready to place in your order yet?" Melody said.

"Yeah. We'll both have the all you can eat ribs," I said.

"Alright. They should be out soon."

"Zacky, can you see the game on the TV? It's hard to see from here," Briony asked me.

"Yeah. Damn, I forgot. The Bears play the Packers today."

"Fuck. What's the score?"

"Tied up at 28 with 3 seconds left of the game, and the Bears are gonna kick a field goal."

"I bet that the Packs will block the kick and they'll go into overtime."

"I don't think so. I'll take up that bet. What's the wager?"

"Loser has to the kiss the winner on the cheek."

"You're so on."

On the screen, I could see Robbie Gould getting ready to make a 48 yard field goal. Just has he got the ball, he kicked it right between the goal post. I just won myself a free kiss.

"Pay up now loser," she joked.

Just as I was about to peck her cheek, she pulled her head to the left and our lips collided. It was just a simple kiss, but it made me the happiest man in the world.

"I'm actually a big Bears fan. I just needed a good reason to kiss you," she said to me followed by a wink.

"Here's the order of ribs. Enjoy your meal," Melody said as she left us our dinner. I quickly tied the bib around my neck and scarfed down two pieces before Briony even touched her dinner.

"Why aren't you eating?" I asked with a mouth full of food.

"These look kinda nasty. I mean look at this," she picked up a piece of and looked at it with horror. "It's covered in shit."

"It's not shit. It's barbecue sauce. Just try one piece, for me please?"

"Fine," she said as she took the small bit and her face lit up. "Damn, where have these been all my life? I feel like I'm in meat haven!"

"That, my dear, is what ribs taste like."

"This may not sound lady like of me, but do you want to have a rib eating contest?"

"You are so on," I accepted her challenge. "On your mark, get set, go!" We both began to chow down.

In less than 3 minutes later, all of our ribs were gone, barbecue-soaked napkins covered more than half of the table, and there was sauce that went up to our noses on our face. I came in first, but Briony was a close second.

"Well, um...you guys seemed like you enjoyed your food. Here's the check, and let me get this out of your way," Melody said as she cleared off part of our table. When she left, Briony and I couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably.

"This was probably the best 45 bucks I spent in my life," I said as I left two twenties and a five in the little black book. "You ready to go?"

"Yea," Briony snorted. It seemed like she was going to die of laughter.

The car ride back home was a lot better than going to Applebees. This time, we were actually talking.

"So, did you have a great time?" I asked.

"It was a blast. Thanks for taking me," she replied.

"I know it's getting late and shit, but I don't care if you crash at my place tonight. We have an extra guest bed."

"I'm good, but thanks for the offer. I have to work tomorrow and feed my dog."

"That's cool. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"Depends. What time?"

"Around 7-ish."

"Well, that's when I get off work. Why do you ask?"

"There's going to be a carnival down by the beach, and I was wondering if you want to go with me?"

"I would love to. Just pick me up at Java Coffee Shop tomorrow at 7. Now turn left and pull over by the apartment complex."

"So I guess this is goodbye, for now."

"Don't worry. I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she gave me an unexpected kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight." She left for her apartment and I drove off. This night couldn't of been more perfect.